Wins and losses for both sides

Democrats have gained control of the House, hitting the magic 218-seat mark to guarantee a majority, after flipping multiple Republican-controlled seats.

The change is significant because Democrats will have the ability to investigate Donald Trump, including the power to subpoena the administration.

The House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, said the win would allow Democrats to “restore checks and balances” on the administration, a hint at future investigations.

Republicans will maintain control of the US Senate, and incumbent RepublicanTed Cruz has squeaked out a win against DemocratBeto O’Rourke in one of the most closely watched races in the nation. The GOP also knocked out Democratic incumbents in Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota, while the Democrats picked up a senate seat in Nevada.

In Florida, Trump-styled Republican Ron DeSantis won after a racially charged campaign against progressive black Democrat Andrew Gillum. At one point, just a few hundred votes separated them. Had Gillum won, he would have been Florida’s first black governor. In a tight Senate race in the same state, Republican Rick Scott unseated Democrat Bill Nelson.

Victory spin is already starting. Republicans might call it the “Kavanaugh effect” that won them the Senate, while Pelosi said her party “owned the ground”. One thing is certainly clear – turnout was huge. One estimate put it at 114 million voters, 31 million more than the midterms in 2014.

Democrats pick up governors’ mansions

Democrats will not win the Senate, but they have picked up a number of governors’ mansions with diverse candidates.

In Colorado, Democrat Jared Polis will become the first gay man to lead a US state. In Kansas, Democrat Laura Kelley defeated Kris Kobach, who served in Trump’s short-lived voter fraud commission (voter fraud is so rare as to be nonexistent). In Michigan, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer defeated Republican Bill Schuette. In Illinois, Democrat Juliana Stratton won the lieutenant governorship, the first black woman to hold that position. And in Wisconsin, Republican Scott Walker suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Democrat Tony Evers.

However, one of the most closely watched governors’ races remains too close to call. In Georgia,Democrat Stacey Abrams is fighting to become the first female black governor of any state. The NAACP in Georgia won a last-ditch lawsuit to extend voting hours in Georgia, where allegations of voter suppression have plagued the race. Abrams’ opponent Republican Brian Kemp, also secretary of state in Georgia, is running the election as well as running against her.

Women make history, and a Trump critic has a victory

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Ilhan Omar reacts to becoming the first Somali American in Congress – video

More women won House seats than ever before. At least99 womenwill serve in the House of Representatives; all but a dozen are Democrats.

A number of congressional races are historic. Though neither was a surprise, Ayanna Pressley became the first black woman elected to Congress in Massachusetts, and in New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman elected to the US Congress. Also, two Muslim women – Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar – and two Native American women – Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland – will join Congress.

The former Republican presidential candidate and Trump critic Mitt Romney is projected to win a Senate seat in Utah.

Power to the people

There were a large number of ballot initiatives in states across the country, on everything from transgender rights to marijuana legalization or voting rights.

In the largest expansion of voting rights since the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Florida voters restored the franchise to 1.5 million former felons.